


Normal

by kaci3PO



Category: ParaNorman (2012)
Genre: Awkwardness, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-26
Updated: 2012-11-26
Packaged: 2017-11-19 14:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/574179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaci3PO/pseuds/kaci3PO
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Norman has no idea how to ask Neil out on a date and Mitch is the Least Helpful Ever. A lot of awkward ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Normal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dancinbutterfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinbutterfly/gifts).



Norman doesn't find out about Mitch's boyfriend until Neil's twelfth birthday when he is invited over for the party. He's been there plenty of times but Mitch doesn't spend much time at home and even when he does, he certainly doesn't spend it with his weird little brother and his even weirder friend, and so somehow the topic never comes up in conversation until the party.

He doesn't care, obviously, it's just that he sort of sees them kissing in the kitchen when he comes in from the back yard to get a glass of water, and then he spends half an hour trying to decide if it's his business or his place to tell Neil that maybe there's something he should know about his big brother. Then the two of them emerge out into the party on their own, clearly holding hands, and no one seems to care, and Norman realizes that everyone already knows.

It's not a big deal. Norman has known that gay people exist for a very long time thanks to a particularly chatty ghost he met one day walking home from school, and he's not offended or anything, and he doesn't think any less of either of them, it's just.

Norman can't stop thinking about them.

Not like _that_ , not exactly, it's just...he's never actually _seen_ two boys together before and now that he has he can't help remembering how comfortable they seemed with each other, how they just sort of melted into each other as their lips connected, how they just sort of seemed...normal.

It's that, more than anything else, that leaves Norman confused long after the party ends.

***

Norman never has a moment when he realizes that he is not like the other boys because, well, _duh_. What he _does_ have is a moment when he realizes that he's actually just like every other sixteen year old boy: awkward and full of hormones and attracted to someone who will probably never be attracted back. It just so happens that that person isn't a pretty cheerleader but is in fact his best, very male, friend.

He's at Neil's for a sleepover and Neil can't shut up about his science partner and how he can't come to the movies with Norman on Saturday because he's meeting her at the library to work on their report.

It's been the two of them for so long that Norman never stopped to think about what would happen when he wasn't the only one vying for Neil's attention. And he certainly never imagined how he'd feel when he was no longer the subject of it. It's surprisingly terrible.

Her name is Hannah and she's very sweet and very smart and Norman likes her which is the most terrible thing of all because he can't even be properly jealous; she's a great girl and Neil would be lucky to date her if she turns out to be interested in him that way.

He finds himself in Mitch's doorway one day under the pretense of going to the bathroom while Neil sets up the video game they're going to play. Mitch looks confused to see him there, but then he always looks confused so that's hardly surprising.

"My brother's room is down the hall," Mitch says. "Did you get lost?"

Norman twists his fingers together. "I —" he starts, then bites his lip. "How do you talk to boys? When you like them, I mean. How do you talk to them and find out if they like you back?"

Mitch shrugs and makes a noise that Norman takes to mean, "I don't know," but which comes out closer to "I-uh-n."

"I took my shirt off and Aster asked me out and we've been together ever since. Try doing that?"

"I — uh, I don't think that's going to work."

Mitch shrugs again. "I-uh-n."

Norman sighs and trudges back to Neil's room.

***

Neil spends more and more time with her the closer it gets to finals time and Norman forcibly reminds himself daily that they're probably just studying. Neil would tell him if he had a girlfriend. Norman's pretty confident about that.

It's just. Norman can't sleep thinking about them, thinking about someone else being Neil's first kiss.

Neil is the only person who's ever made Norman feel normal and yeah, okay, in retrospect he probably should've figured this out years ago, but he didn't, and now it's too late.

***

"Hey, Norman?" Neil asks as they're walking home from school on the last day of the year.

"Hm?"

"I was wondering..."

"Hm?"

"Nothing," Neil says hastily. "Never mind."

***

Norman wanders back into his bedroom after brushing his teeth and thinks that the world must hate him even more than he already knew it did because Neil is changing and there's skin everywhere and Norman doesn't know whether he wants to reach out and touch or run back to the bathroom and hate his life. Maybe both.

"Sorry!" he says, holding a hand up over his eyes. "I — I'm sorry. I didn't —"

"It's okay," Neil says. "I don't mind."

"Oh," Norman says, and then shifts from foot to foot because what the hell's he supposed to say to that?

"Is it —" Neil hesitates. "Do _you_ mind?"

"No," Norman says. "I don't mind."

He lowers his hand slowly just as Neil finishes pulling his shirt on. They look at each other and Norman has no idea what's going on but Neil looks just as confused as he is.

"You should shut the door," Neil says, gesturing behind him. "Since I still don't have any pants on."

"Oh," Norman says. "Right." He reaches behind him to pull the door shut, and then rests back against it while Neil finishes getting dressed.

"I'm sorry," he says. "About walking in on you."

"It's okay," Neil says. "Not the first time."

No, not the first time. The first time since Hannah, though.

"Is — is Hannah your girlfriend?" he blurts out. "You spend a lot of time with her."

"I spend a lot of time with _you_ ," Neil counters. "She's my lab partner."

"Oh."

"Norman —"

"We should go to bed," he interrupts. "It's late. I'm tired, aren't you tired?"

"Not really," Neil says, but obligingly lays down in the sleeping bag he's kept in Norman's closet since they were eleven.

Norman flicks the lights off, using the moonlight to find his way to his bed and then he lies there, listening to Neil breathe. Neither of them fall asleep for a very long time, but they don't talk, either. Norman has no idea what's going on and all he wants is for someone to just _explain_ to him how to ask Neil out like a normal human being.

***

"Are you ever going to ask me out?" Neil asks two days later.

Norman chokes.

"I asked Mitch and he said I should take my shirt off and that clearly didn't work so just...tell me what to do so that I can do it and we can go out on a date already."

"I — " Norman licks his lips. "I didn't think you —."

"Of course I."

"Oh," Norman says. "Um. Okay. You wanna go out with me sometime?"

Neil doesn't answer. He just kisses Norman hard and sloppy and at some point their mouths are on each other's cheeks and Norman's pretty sure it wasn't intentional. It's awkward and they're both panting heavily by the time they finally pull apart.

Norman's face feels like it's going to _crack_ under the weight of his smile.

"Um," he says, and then remembers that they're standing around on the street and there are people staring and oh God, his parents are going to hear about this through the grapevine before he has a chance to tell them and —

"You wanna go to my house and practice that?" Neil asks. "I think we can do it better."

"Yes," Norman blurts out before Neil can even finish. "Please."

Somewhere on the walk to Neil's house, their hands fit together and Norman watches them swinging back and forth. _You're my normal_ , he thinks, but doesn't allow himself to say because they're not at a point in this... _relationship_ where he can say cheesy things like that and not get a Best Friends Punch on the Arm instead of a Touched Boyfriend Kiss.

He'll tell him, though. Some day.

**Author's Note:**

> I can not be the only one who came away from this movie going, "Uh...Norman's going to be asking Mitch for advice on how to talk to boys in a few years, isn't he?"


End file.
